Christmas Day was coming. I was just a kid then, and my big sister told me there was no Santa Claus. I fled to my Grandma because she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told me the truth. Grandma was home, and I told her everything. “No Santa Claus?” She shouted. “Ridiculous! Don’t believe it. “Now, put on your coat, and let’s go.”
“Go where, Grandma?” I asked. “Where” turned out to be Kerby’s General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. “Take this money, and buy something for someone who needs it. I’ll wait for you in the car.” Then she turned and walked out of Kerby’s.
I was only eight years old. I’d often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people competing to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, holding that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy and who to buy it for. I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker, who was a kid with bad breath and messy hair. He sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock’s grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn’t have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for break during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn’t have a cough, and he didn’t have a coat. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I chose a red one, which looked really warm, and he would like that.
“Is this a Christmas present for someone?” the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid ten dollars down. “Yes.”
The nice lady smiled at me, put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas.
注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好。
Paragraph 1:
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap (包裹) the coat in Christmas paper.
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Paragraph2:
Grandma and I waited breathlessly for Bobby Decker’s front door to open.
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A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.
—Tenneva Jordan
I knew I was not supposed to be quite so excited. I was too old for that. At age eleven, the oldest and my mom’s “grown up” girl, I had to keep my cool. I was in middle school after all. But every chance I got, when I was alone, I checked each present under the tree. I read every tag and felt every package, guessing at the contents within. I had examined each gift so often that I could tell which present went to which person without even looking at the tags.
It had been a tough year for my family. Whenever my mom looked over at the tree and scattered(撒) presents, she would sigh and warn us, “There won’t be as much for Christmas this year. Try not to be disappointed.” Christmas had traditionally been a time for my parents to spoil us. In years past, the presents would pile up and spill out from under the tree, taking over the living room. I had heard the phrase “giving is better than receiving,” but thought that whoever had said that must have been out of their mind. Getting presents was the whole point! It was the reason I couldn’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas morning, we eagerly waited in the hallway until Dad told us everything was ready. We rushed into the living room and let the wrapping paper fly. We made weak attempts to wait and watch while other family members opened their presents, but as the time passed we lost our self-control.
“Here’s another one for you,” said Mom as she handed me a package. I looked at it, confused. Having spent so much time examining the presents before Christmas, I recognized this one. But it had not been mine. It was my mom’s. A new label had been put on it, with my name written in my mother’s handwriting.
“Mom, I can’t…”
注意：1. 所续写短文的词数应为150左右；
2. 至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3. 续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4. 续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
Paragraph 1:
I was stopped by my mother’s eager, joyful look.
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Paragraph 2:
I have always remembered that Christmas fondly.
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For many years the school system in Finland has been very successful. In the PISA survey, which compares reading, math and science knowledge of 15-year-olds around the world, Finland is not only the top European country but also competes with Asian giants like Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea. But what makes the educational system in this small country so different from others in the western countries?
Until the 1960s, most Finland’s most students left school after six years. In the middle of the 1960s, the Finnish government saw the need to change and modernize their education system if they want to be internationally competitive. Lawmakers made a simple decision: a basic school for all the 7- to 16-year-olds. Compulsory (义务的) education begins at 7. The government makes it possible for all children to attend preschool as well.
Most of Finland’s schools get their money from the government. The people who are in charge of the education system, from teachers to officials are trained teachers, not politicians like in other countries.
Teachers work with their pupils in school as much as possible. When teachers are not with the pupils, they spend a lot of time in schools working on the curriculum (课程) and new projects. Schools in Finland are small, at least for international standards. So teachers know every pupil in their school and try everything to succeed with their pupils. In contrast to other nations, Finland selects its teachers very carefully: only talented teachers go on to a university and receive a master’s degree in education. Finland only takes the best to educate its youth.
All Finnish children, whether they come from the city or the country, whether from a rich or poor family, have the same chances in education. There are not so many differences between the wealthy and the poor, as in America or other Western European countries. Education experts say that there is very little difference between very good and the worst students. Two thirds of Finnish pupils move on to higher education, the highest rate in the European Union.
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Recently, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) issued a guidance to open cultural heritage buildings to the public, encouraging local governments, cultural heritage departments and organizations using or managing such buildings to better bring these buildings’ cultural and social value into play, on the precondition of full protection. The SACH is clear that, no matter what their current conditions are, heritage buildings should be opened as much as possible.
In the past, due to insufficient preserving technologies and lack of funds, repairing work was seen as a major hassle, and thus opening the buildings to the public was difficult. Even famous heritage places like the Palace Museum in Beijing were plagued by such difficulties.
Today, China has dramatically increased its input into cultural heritage protection, and archaeological protection technologies are improving. The time is ripe for heritage buildings to be opened up.
【写作内容】
1. 用约30个单词写出上文概要；
2. 用约120个单词就“对公众开放文物建筑”这一话题，阐述你的看法，并用2~3个理由或论据支撑你的看法。
【写作要求】
1. 写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3. 不必写标题。
【评分标准】内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
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| When in London by tube with mainly English passengers, we tend to sit together in total silence. However, when I traveled in China, people sitting next to me often asked me about my age, salary, and even marriage. They were also willing to introduce themselves as much possible. |
| On the first day I arrived in China, a Chinese professor invited me to dinner accompanied by his colleagues. After dinner, the professor paid for the meal alone, although the others also offered to pay for it. In Britain, we are accustomed to going “Dutch” while eating in a restaurant. |
| One day, at a friend’s birthday party, I met with a foreign friend and offered my hand, meanwhile he bowed to me. We were both at a loss for a moment, but soon he seemed to be conscious of something and shook my hand naturally. |
【写作内容】
1．用约30个词概述上述信息的主要内容；
2．列举1至2个中外文化差异的事例；
3．谈谈我们该如何正确对待文化差异的问题（不少于两点）。
【写作要求】
1．写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2．作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3．不必写标题。
【评分标准】
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
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